Sunday, May 13, 2007

If The Label Fits...

Anarchist and confidential document leaker Jeff Monaghan of Ottawa has been complaining about being 'labelled' an anarchist. On the Friday edition of CBC Radio's afternoon show All In A Day columnist Don Martin said 'I know he's been emailing your producer to say he's not an anarchist, but that's what he is,' and today Monaghan has published this letter taking exception to the label again.

This is strange, because while Monaghan's letter says:

I eschew labels and identity politics. My ethical standpoint is my own and not that of any ideology. I support people, not an ideology.

and yet at the same time, he seems to have no difficulty describing Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a radical neocon theocrat. That's not just a label, that's three of them. And all three of them demonstrably untrue. If anyone can point to a 'radical' move of the present government, or any policy that they've carried out that could be justifiably described as 'neocon', or any policy that's been in any way driven by any kind of theological motivation, I'd love to hear it, but the truth is it doesn't exist. The 'scary, religious-right, neocon' Conservative myth has been so successfully debunked that our government is now nowhere near right-wing enough for many voters tastes.

True or not, you don't get any more 'labels and identity politics' than that. So much for eschewing them, Mr. Monaghan. So. In the spirit of his request, TDPC will refrain from labelling Mr. Monaghan an 'anarchist' and simply observe that he is an immature, dishonest and untrustworthy individual, with a level of political thinking of about the 11th grade, who is clearly, despite all protestations otherwise, thoroughly enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame.